Anecdotes
by TeaAndGlee
Summary: Ryley one-shots. Short, long, deep, light-hearted, angsty, fluffy and everything in between!
1. Late Night Buses

**Hi guys! I need to start this apologising. **

**So, currently I am going through the. Biggest. Writer's block. Of. My. Life. **

**Basically, I am completely and utterly stuck on my next moves for New Perspective and, not only am I struggling to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard), but I basically have no ideas whatsoever on what to do. I have a few minor plots sorted, but nothing. It would be great if you guys could PM me ideas since until I knuckle down on that, there won't be any updates and I've been called out for leaving it too long before… I don't know, I'm just borderline desperate here. **

**Anyways, in absence of ideas for New Perspective, I have had inspiration instead for a series – one that I have been meaning to do for a while now. Basically, I am launching a story that will simply be a series of Ryley one-shots – long and short, deep and light-hearted, whatever you guys want - whenever I desire or just need a little breather from my multiple-chapter stories. I've seen other do this kind of thing, often with the help of popular Tumblr account 'Imagine Your OTP', and I have really wanted to try this out for myself (and, not to mention, the majority of stories on this account are one-shots). So, without further ado, here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I'm just going to say right now that I will never, ever own Glee. Ever. Or else, don't you think my OTP would have been together since the beginning and the NYC move wouldn't have happened?**

_-(x)- _

_PLOT: 24 year-old Marley Rose is stuck in a dead-end, boring job just to get the pay she desires. Alone and stuck in the same shabby town, Marley is sure that she has hit rock bottom. This is until she meets Ryder Lynn, a flirtatious optimistic just starting an equally dull job himself, on another one of her late-night bus journeys home._

Marley huffed tiredly as she slumped down onto the creaky, ancient bench of the public bus. Since she always got home later than others, it was around the time when few were in the vehicle. She would come back from another day in the office where she would most likely be staring bemusedly at the sign close to her booth that read 'OUT OF PAPER' (they never really did get around to replacing it) for a while with tired eyes before getting back to her actual business. She would also be heavily exhausted from running up and down the stories of the office building, fetching various warm beverages for her strict boss on the highest floor, even though she wasn't even his assistant - he just hated her. The extra paperwork she had to deal with (her boss seemingly dumped an uneven amount on her) kept her up in the large office at late hours, drunk with fatigue; the reason for the bags under her weary, soulless eyes.

Unfortunately, this old routine would drag on every day apart from Sundays and half of Saturdays. The brunette hated her job with a fiery passion, but she had to grasp onto it. Besides, how else would she pay the rent for her lousy apartment - the one which she would also need money to decorate? How else would she pay for her daily essentials and the things she required for fun? She wouldn't, it was as simple as that. So, with a groggy moan, a disembodied hand slamming on her alarm clock and tired, sore, shuffling feet, Marley would arise every morning at 6:00am and get back to her apartment at 11:15pm.

The day was regularly so busy that Marley often didn't even get time to eat much of her lunch. She was always left with an apple or maybe a kale-infused smoothie at the end of the tiresome day, which she would often end up munching on exhaustedly on the uneasy bus ride home.

Marley was sure she had hit rock bottom. She was a 24 year old woman who had studied home economics alongside an upbeat course on music at college and she had somehow ended up with a dead-end job on the library staff of a newspaper, living in a lousy apartment alone.

Biting the inside of her mouth tiredly, the brunette gazed outside to her bus stop and eventually arose, trudging her feet off the bus.

"Goodnight, Carl." Marley bid the bus driver who drove her everyday goodbye - the woman's consistent appearances in Carl's bus had forced them to become acquainted with each other.

"G'night, Marley. See you tomorrow, bright and early." chimed the bus driver.

_-(x)-_

Marley dragged her feet over to her cubicle on the 6th floor of the office, after yawning and walking like a zombie out of the elevator. She had barely even reclined in her chair before a slam echoed through her ears. She cast her tired eyes down to her cubicle's desk, where a fresh pile of paperwork lay for her to scan through. As her glance arose, she discovered that her boss was towering over said paperwork with a mischievous grin.

"All of these please, Miss Rose," Mr Rodgers began, dragging the 's' on 'Miss' for a long time as if he were a serpent. "By Thursday."

"By Thursday?!" Marley breathed the words out in exasperation. "But Mr Rodgers, I-"

"May I remind you that if you disobey me then I will happily ask you to clear away your belongings from your booth..." Marley's boss scanned over her small office, "…and leave? Mind you, it wouldn't take long at all... you only have a picture of your family, a pencil and a half-eaten energy bar." Mr Rodgers smirked before finalising his rant: "By Thursday. No exceptions."

Once Mr Rodger's had left, Marley cursed under her breath before she began skimming through the pile of work. She let out an exasperated sigh - maybe tonight she would be home by even later than 11:15pm. That was certainly what it seemed like.

_-(x)-_

Thursday evening. As she shivered amongst the frigid, icy air, she was just praying that her bus wouldn't be any later. That morning she had earned a nod from Mr Rodgers as she did, in fact, stay at the office later than usual to be sure the paperwork would be completed by Thursday; other than that, it was a typically exhausting day. The bus finally arrived as the vehicle halted noisily before her, and she knew just from looking at its exterior why the bus had been so late. It was considerably packed, compared to its usual amount of 3 or 4 passengers - not much room was to be seen at all. The young woman huffed in frustration before mounting the bus, finally finding a place to sit near the back of the vehicle next to a fairly large man who was plugged in and blasting a dubstep beat through his ears. Marley picked up the apple in her bag which she had not eaten from lunch and rolled her thumb over the smooth, green skin. Her head lunged forward due to the force of the old bus halting at another stop. The man next to her got off.

Marley was now tossing the small apple in between the smooth palms and fingertips of her hands, wondering if she was going to eat the fruit at all, when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Excuse me, is it alright if I sit here?" the voice of a man piped up. He had just arrived onto the crowded bus and Marley soon tilted her head up to examine him further. He was tall and had muddy brown hair, broad shoulders and was clad in a smart suit. The brunette bit her lip as to try and stop her mouth from falling open at the sight of him. The young man began to look concerned as Marley hadn't answered yet, and soon, Marley was cursing under her breath for staring at him. She was overtaken by fatigue again and waved a hand nonchalantly, "Y-Yeah, sure."

The young man grinned and sat in the seat next to the brunette, who was now taking small bites from her apple, staring out of the window tiredly. He huffed before turning his head back to her whilst the girl herself wasn't noticing, examining her. "So," the man finally said, "what brings you here on this crowded public bus at..." he checked his watch, "...11:27pm?"

Marley groaned. It was that late already? Hesitantly, she replied. "My job. I think I've hit rock bottom."

The boy chuckled, "what job requires you to stay up this late, ma'am?"

"I work on the library staff of the town newspaper." Marley admitted, scratching at the back of her neck. "It's probably the most boring job in the world." The woman giggled.

"More boring than working for a company that sells toner? I mean, even the word sounds boring - _toner. toooooner. toneeeerrrr._ Nothing." The mysterious boy chuckled, and Marley joined him.

"Well, at least you don't have to file through years' worth of headlines and file them alphabetically, chronologically, matter of urgency... ugh, I just hate my job." Marley giggled.

"But surely a young, pretty girl like you would be worth more than a dead-end job for a newspaper?" The young man teased, nudging her playfully on the arm.

"Yeah, well... I don't know..." Marley spoke shyly as she blushed. "Uh, sorry, what was your name again?"

"Jesus Christ," the man scolded himself, "I'm already hitting on you and you don't even know who I am." He shook his head then held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Ryder."

Marley giggled. "That's okay, Ryder. I'm Marley." The girl smiled and shook Ryder's large hand. "So why haven't I seen you on this bus before, Ryder?"

"I actually just moved here from Miami. My girlfriend... well... she kicked me out, so to speak." Ryder bit his lip; scolding himself again internally for mentioning the matter to someone he just met a few minutes ago.

"Oh, gosh." Marley cooed, "I'm so sorry, I..."

"Don't be. She was pretty stuck up anyways - you know how those damn beach girls are." Ryder tried to chuckle off the matter.

"Well, it must suck nonetheless. I mean, Miami and Lima are pretty far apart - both in miles and in quality." She giggled. "I've grown up on Adjacent and I even went to college here and I'm still not used to it. It still makes me a "Lima Loser", though."

"I'm sure you're not a loser." Ryder sighed.

"I'm pretty sure I am," Marley countered, chuckling it off. "A ditsy, naïve little girl who spends her whole life in the same crappy town and works in an office filled to the brim with newspapers and lives by herself in a lousy apartment where she doesn't even get enough sleep because she's either working or talking to her unimpressed mother on the phone who keeps trying to set her up with someone... it doesn't exactly sound appetising, does it?" Marley stopped tossing the apple between her palms and instead took a bite. Once she had finished her mouthful, noticing that Ryder hadn't spoken for a long time, she looked down. "Crap, I'm sorry. I'm rambling on about my life to a complete stranger. I'm so sorry-"

"Don't be." Ryder chuckled at the woman's sudden jittery and nervous state. The bus halted and Ryder looked outside of the vehicle before arising from his seat; it was his stop. "And we're not _complete_ strangers, right? We know each other's names and jobs at least." He winked, causing her to giggle half-heartedly once more. "I'll catch you later, Marley."

"Okay," Marley smiled, "See ya."

_-(x)-_

Marley leaned her head against the cold window of the bus as she looked down into her lap, playing with the day's apple between her fingers. It was another late hour, and another laborious day at work. Mr Rodgers graced her firm with double the amount of work they usually filed through, giving a sharp deadline with, as per usual, "no exceptions". Her droopy eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, and the brunette longed for the weekend. She longed for a time when she could be steady enough to quit her job and do what actually made her happy; she longed to live in a nice area of town in an impressive apartment; she longed for her mother to stop nagging at her over the phone, telling her that she "found Marley's father when she was in college" and that "honey, I told the neighbour's dog walker that you're free on Sunday to go out. He's a lovely man. You should go - you need to live a little, sweetie!" To be frank, Marley was truly searching for a miracle. She was practically longing for her whole life to reverse and to become something it wasn't.

She hadn't even noticed the figure before her until he spoke, interrupting her thoughts once again like the day before: "Hey."

"Oh, hi!" Marley lifted her slanting head off the window as she sat up, straightening out her pencil skirt and now gripping the apple firmly in her hand. "How are you?"

"Eh, same-old. I've only been at the job for a few days and I already want to smash my head through a wall." Ryder chuckled, taking the seat next to her. "And yourself?"

"We're on the same page," Marley nodded slowly. "All I want to do is just... sleep." The brunette chuckled.

"Yeah, you look exhausted. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, it depends what you mean by "okay", but yeah. I think so." Marley looked at him and smiled shyly. Ryder looked back and caught her glance, studying her expression. He grinned in spite of himself and looked down into his lap.

"So, Marley, there must be _something_ you like doing..."

Marley chuckled. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Come on, there must be something. What did you study in college?"

"Home economics." Marley replied in a dull tone.

Ryder turned to her with raised eyebrows. "Seriously?" To this, Marley nodded. "Huh... so you _really_ don't do anything for fun..."

Marley chuckled. "Nope."

"But... everyone has a hobby! Even if they aren't good at it, everyone has something, right? Come on, I thought we weren't going to be strangers." Ryder chuckled as he looked at her.

"Okay, fine. I like cooking and baking and stuff." Marley breathed out as if she were a deflating balloon. "There."

Ryder grinned, "See, I told you-"

"It doesn't mean I'm good at it!" Marley cut him off. "Or that I can even do it - I never have enough time. I get home super late, so usually I just... I don't know... I stick something in the microwave and eat it."

Ryder sighed. "Alright, fair enough. Maybe someday you can open a bakery or something and realise your dreams." He grinned.

Marley sighed. "Oh, so you're one of _those_ guys..."

Ryder scoffed, "What guys?"

"You know, the type who believe in second chances and dreams coming true and soul mates and all that crap." Marley specified, gesturing along with her statement.

Ryder scoffed again in disbelief, "I am not."

"Yes, you totally are!" Marley laughed.

"Well, I..." Ryder tried to prove himself, but alas, the girl knew what she was talking about. "Well, maybe you're just heartless."

"_That_ I can believe, too." Marley bit into her apple, munching on it as she expanded on her point. "That's what happens when you live here. Your soul gets crushed like a grape and thrown out like the trash that the rats feed on and you stop taking nonsense that you don't deserve, even when your life is a joke. Trust me; it'll happen to you in a few weeks." Marley chuckled slightly. "It's inevitable."

"Wow, I can't wait." Ryder said sarcastically. "They should really tell you that before you move here, though."

"Yeah. I told the committee that they should write 'Welcome to Lima, the land of the corpse souls' on the boarder sign when you come in here, but they didn't listen." Marley joked, causing a string of laughter to come out of Ryder's mouth.

"Or a warning sign at least. 'Warning! This town will crush your soul; enter at your own risk!'" He giggled, and Marley did the same.

"So, what's _your_ dream, Ryder?" Marley teased as the bus halted at the chestnut-haired boy's stop.

"Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow evening." Ryder smirked as he bid the woman farewell, getting off the bus.

_-(x)-_

Over the next few weeks, Ryder and Marley talked more and more on the late bus home. At one point, they were enthusiastically talking about their favourite bands and movies to the point where the woman sitting in front of them had to shush the pair. They had learned so much about each other over the days - Marley had learnt that Ryder's favourite colour was blue and that he was actually a very fun and playful person, despite obtaining such a boring job. Ryder also had 2 sisters whose names were Grace and Maddie, and Ryder was about to become an uncle because Grace and her husband were expecting. The muddy-haired boy had also told Marley stories about Miami, high school and his annoying ex-girlfriend. Some days, Ryder would stay in the bus until they reached Marley's stop and would walk back to her apartment with the girl - those were Marley's favourite days.

Whenever he left, though, the brunette always felt emptier than before. Every time she entered her apartment or every time the bus drove away from his stop, she felt her insides sink down into the pit of her stomach. Marley refused to even think about the possibility that she was falling hopelessly for him - she didn't want to. The event would occur and it was inescapable, yet Marley still wanted nothing to happen. Besides, committed or not, the cerulean-eyed woman was not prepared for the amount of time nor the emotional damage that being in a relationship requires. So, moping in her bed every night, she came to the conclusion that she would remain a sad, single loser. She didn't want to throw herself a pity party, but she was slowly slipping into it.

One bus ride after, Marley saw Ryder differently. He somehow seemed cuter, hotter even, and for some perplexing reason, the brunette just wanted to grab his face and kiss him. It was a foolish – not to mention completely impractical - thought, but a true one at that. Ryder seemed different in a more real way, too - he seemed on the edge that day about something, but Marley didn't know why. Every time the blue-eyed girl asked him about this, he just smiled and told her he was fine, and they just went back to talking and joking around again.

The night after, Marley was particularly angry about work, so she ranted about the matter to Ryder. Again, the boy appeared to be hesitant with his answers and he just kept looking at her. Marley was beginning to think Ryder didn't have fun spending time with her anymore, and her heart was slowly fracturing at the thought of not seeing him again; he was the highlight of a crappy day's work.

That night, the young man insisted on leading her up to her apartment, and Marley gladly obliged, still curious about why Ryder was appearing so distant.

"So, this is my stop, I guess." Marley gestured to the door to her apartment before her. "Thanks for walking me up here, Ryder."

"Uh, no problem." Ryder grinned shyly, raising more questions to the brunette's brain. He was _never_ shy for the entire time they had known each other.

"It's nice to know someone who can walk with me and I can rant about things to them - and I don't even have to pay you!" Marley joked, causing a microscopic chuckle to release from between Ryder's lips. After a few long seconds of silence, Marley fumbled for the keys in her pocket, speaking again. "Listen, I-I'm really sorry if my baggage is too heavy on you. I know you have your own problems, and I feel so terrible... you're probably too nice to say it but I know you don't want-"

Something surprising happened before Marley could finish her apologising sentence. Ryder smashed his lips onto hers with a sudden hunger, softening slowly with time. Marley, shocked and confused at first, soon began kissing back as Ryder's hands wrapped themselves around her petite form, settling on her waist. After time, the couple broke away, still centimetres away from each other. It was, in the end, Marley who closed the gap between their mouths softly for a second kiss, and Ryder reciprocated immediately with equal softness.

Countless sweet kisses later, the pair broke away for the last time and looked at each other, scanning the other's expressions. They were so close that their foreheads were resting against each other as they caught their bated breath. After a long time, Ryder began chuckling slightly, much to Marley's confusion.

"What?" Marley questioned, still grinning.

"You're so cute." Ryder cooed as he finally stepped back, giving the girl more room. "And I can't believe I actually did that and didn't chicken out."

To this, Marley giggled. "I'm glad you didn't chicken out either, you know."

Ryder grinned and blushed slightly as Marley did the same. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah. Yeah, definitely." Ryder said, the words barely reaching anything more than a whisper as he kissed her cheek softly. "And maybe sometime we could hang out... outside the bus journey?"

"Of course." Marley agreed, inwardly exploding with excitement. "See you, Ryder."

_-(x)-_

**I hope you liked the first instalment as much as I loved writing it. I got the idea of Marley's job because I am currently doing work myself on a play called **_**Alphabetical Order**_**, set in the 1970s, where people do this job for a living.**

**I promise I will keep trying to overcome my massive New Perspective writer's block! In the meantime, though…**

_PLEASE SUGGEST ANY PROMPTS IN A REVIEW OR IN A PM. IT CAN BE IN THE FORM OF A PLOT LINE, A FEW BRIEF WORDS, A PHRASE, PROVERB OR A QUOTE THAT YOU WANT SOMEWHERE IN THE STORY. THANK YOU!_

**-Beth :-)**


	2. Marley Hudson

**Hi again :-) **

**I promise I am still progressing with New Perspective and, again, this is just a one-shot collection that I am writing in attempt to clear the ideas out in my head. Although, I love spending time on it!**

**This storyline was suggested by my amazing friend, Haley! She has so many good ideas as well as being the biggest Finchel stan I have ever known. This is for her! Watch out for the rusty spoon ;-)**

_-(x)-_

_PLOT: (AU) Marley Hudson, devoted daughter of Rachel and Finn Hudson, becomes pregnant at only 17 years old. Still in high school, can she battle through the inevitable teasing that is sure to come? Will this surprising turn of events lead her to a friend that has been there all along?_

"I'm home, Mom," Marley Hudson sputtered through the house in an agitated manner to her mother, Rachel, who was cooking dinner - Marley could tell just by the waft of her mother's infamous vegetarian spaghetti bolognese that she was preparing dinner.

"Hello, sweetie, how was Jake's house and school?" Marley's mother chirped as she emerged from the kitchen of their simple albeit classy house in the neighbourhood. Rachel was, however, cut off by her teenage daughter's stomping footsteps creaking up their winding staircase. Seconds later, a door slammed - Marley's bedroom door. As Rachel stared up at the ceiling, she sighed and scribed a mental note to herself to talk to Marley later - she had seemed so on-edge, especially these past few weeks.

About an hour later with dinner almost ready, Marley's father, Finn, emerged from the front door - a clash of car keys hitting against the porcelain bowl on the table accompanied this. He huffed, straightening his back (it had been a considerably long day at the office, which was associated with his step-father's tire shop) before trekking into the kitchen of the house.

Finn snaked his arms around the define curves of Rachel's waist from behind before offering her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Good evening, honey."

"Hey," Rachel grinned to herself as she stirred the pasta slightly. "How was work?"

"Same-old, you know." Finn shrugged. "Have you seen Marley?"

"She's upstairs," Rachel instantly sighed dejectedly as a concerned look stiffened her face's entirety. Finn spun her around, still holding her waist loosely with his strong hands. "Something's up... what is it?"

"That's the thing..." Rachel's eyes wandered down to the floor as she sniffed sharply. "I don't know. She's barely said a sentence to me this week, and, I don't know... I guess I'm just worried about her. She's always seemed a bit preoccupied lately, you know?"

"I know, I've noticed." Rachel's husband sighed as he kissed her forehead. "I'll tell you what - before dinner, you can go up to her room and ask her what's wrong. And if she still doesn't tell you, I'll talk to her after dinner - you know she can't refrain from saying _anything_ to her daddy." He grinned as a smile began rising at the corners of Rachel's mouth.

"Okay," She spoke as she kissed her husband's cheek. "Thanks honey."

_-(x)-_

A knock echoed through Marley's room, causing the young woman herself to lift her head up to the now opening door of her bedroom.

"Hey, sweetie - it's just me." Rachel cooed as she slowly slid through the door. The mother's heart turned to a sloppy mess as she viewed her daughter; just by Marley's expression, it was obvious that she had been crying. Marley instantly shot her head back around to stare at the wall, as she was doing previously.

Soon enough, the teenager sensed the bed raising as her mother sat next to her, soon taking the girl's pale-skinned and cold hand in her own ones. "Marley, you've been acting differently lately. Is there anything you need to... I don't know... tell me? Or anything that's been troubling you?" Rachel looked at her daughter with a face that Marley couldn't help but trust. The girl turned to her mother, looking her straight in the eye, a single tear rolling down her cheek. The brunette mustered all the voice she had left in her to speak, her words still hoarse. "Please, don't be mad. Please."

Without further explanation, Marley fished through a drawer where some of her undergarments were kept. Pulling out something, finally, the girl tossed the item to her mother's awaiting hand. More tears were shed from the girl. "I'm so, _so_ sorry, Mom."

_-(x)-_

Finn arose from his seat on the kitchen counter as he heard Marley's bedroom door being slowly shut with diligence he had not seen in his wife before. As Rachel carefully padded down the stairs, looking nowhere but the floor, Finn waited anxiously as her footsteps finally halted before him. "So…?" He prompted his wife nervously.

Rachel sniffed and hesitated before she ejected the words from her mouth. "Marley's pregnant."

Finn was speechless, to emphasise the least of the situation. Questions pounded and whirled around his clouded brain as he blinked slowly; an attempt to clear his now-foggy vision. His voice hitched as his breathing became seemingly lodged in his throat. His Adam's apple bobbed as he tried something - anything - to clear his head. _His daughter was pregnant. His baby girl, only 17 years old, was going to have a baby of her own._ Surely this was some sort of prank, was it not? Nonetheless, Finn stuttered uncontrollably. "P-Pregn-... Pregnant? Whose is it?"

"Guess." Rachel spoke sarcastically as he sat down on the dining room chairs nearby, leading a dumbfounded Finn to sit next to her. Suddenly, the man's jaw clenched as he cursed under his breath - he hated the guy, and he wanted him squished to a pulp now that he had done this to his innocent little girl.

"Apparently Jake was getting... agitated... at the fact that Marley didn't want to do it, and eventually she just caved. We both know that she hates, more than anything, to not please someone who she cares about. I just didn't think she would-"

Finn was angrier than ever when Rachel had revealed this. "He's dead. He pressured our Marley into doing something she didn't want to do. He needs to rot in his grave-"

"Finn!" Rachel scolded his rather extreme and sinister wishes.

"He deserves it though, doesn't he?!" Finn yelled, tears threatening to spill over his eyes. "Doesn't that dumbass realise that these things have consequences?!"

"I know, but it's happened, sweetie," Rachel tried to soothe her irritated husband as he attempted to relax. "And there's nothing we can do about it, okay? We should just support our daughter - imagine what this must be like for her. Besides, we _have to_ support her because I was only 19 when I had her, remember?"

Finn sighed. "Okay. But he's still dead meat to me, alright? Especially after Marley's had all of these body issues." He shook his head as his eyes wandered to the ceiling. "Does he know? Jake, I mean?"

"I think Marley was going to tell him tomorrow after school."

"I'm going to be here for that - I can take a day off work, I'm sure I can."

"Finn..."

"No, Rachel. I have to be here to support our little girl, okay?" He spoke as his lips ghosted over Rachel's forehead before pressing a reassuring kiss there.

Rachel soon sunk into his touch. "Okay. We'll both be here."

After a few minutes of silence, Marley soon came downstairs to eat dinner. Noticing their daughter had arisen from her bedroom, Finn gestured to his wife silently that he was going to talk to her alone. Slowly, attempting to keep his breathing at a normal pace, Marley's father entered the kitchen. Marley, at the time, had her back facing the door to the kitchen as she spooned generous amounts of spaghetti and sauce into her bowl. Spinning on her heel, finally, she noticed the figure of her father; like a deer in the midst of headlights, she became motionless. Finn looked at her sympathetically and it was clear what the following events would be, but Marley didn't want this to happen. She wanted to forget, just for a while. So, instead of sitting at the kitchen table like she always did to eat her dinner, she attempted to rush straight past her father to go upstairs. It did not work. Instead, Finn grabbed Marley's free wrist. "Marls, stop."

Her father had used that nickname for his daughter since she could first remember, and it always set loose something inside of her - a pang of guilt slid through her veins as she slowly turned around to meet her father's gaze. Again, nothing was said.

Finn took this as a queue. "Marls, I know it's scary, especially as you're so... young... but I'm not mad, okay? I want to be supportive, that's all." Marley raised one eyebrow quizzically, trying to make sure that her father wasn't kidding. Finn chuckled, "Sweetie, your Mom had you when she was 19 years old and we were both petrified, but now we have the smartest, kindest most beautiful daughter. I promise that we're going to be here for you." Finn confirmed as a single tear dropped down Marley's pale face. She wiped it away with the back of her free hand in a hurried action and sniffed sharply, but soon she was bawling again. Marley put down her bowl on a table nearby and began crying loudly into her father's chest. Finn tangled his arms around her small waist in response, muttering things to her in the hopes that she would calm down.

Finally, Marley tore away reluctantly and sniffed once more. "I'm sc-scared, dad."

"I know, sweetie." Finn half-smiled before pulling his daughter into another secure bear hug.

_-(x)-_

"Hey, boobless!" came the snarky voice of one of Marley's fellow students. The brunette turned from her locker to find Bree and her army of Cheerios, all hands on hips.

"What do you want?" Marley sighed - she needed to get to class soon and this was considerably waylaying her.

"Little birdy told me you had a bun in the oven..." Bree smirked as she tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms over her chest.

Marley froze but tried to keep her voice nonchalant as she brushed the statement off. "What? That is the biggest lie I have ever heard in my li-"

"Oh, cut the crap, Marley. Jake told me himself." Bree retorted, causing a shiver to erupt down Marley's spine. She hadn't seen Jake since she told him the news and he had, inevitably, walked out on her and broken up with her. Bree took Marley's face as a sign that Jake had been honest, and the cheerleader smirked again. "I wasn't surprised that he ditched you, actually. I mean, who wants to keep a bulimic baby? Surely you're not keeping it, right?"

Marley was stunned to silence as she clutched her books firmly in her hand. The girl cancelled abortion out of the question in an instant, and she figured that giving the baby up for adoption would be too emotionally damaging.

Bree gasped. "Oh my god, you're actually _keeping_ the bastard?" The other students in the hallway had long since stopped talking, and people had been listening to their conversation intently from the beginning. Marley leaned back slightly, feeling Bree's cold chill even from where she was standing, before nodding slowly.

Bree looked at Marley with fake sympathy. "Well, maybe the baby's craving some blue raspberry."

Before her mind could comprehend the sentence, Marley was coated in a thick layer of sticky, sugary, blue gloop. Trying to wipe the slushie off her eyes, which were now stinging, Marley could see through her blurred vision that everyone was staring at her. The cheerleaders had walked off by then, and all that could be heard were the whispers of gossiping witnesses and Marley's now-heavy breathing. She cursed under her breath (something very un-Marley-like) as she stared at the judging faces around her. Everybody knew. She began to feel tears well up in her cerulean eyes as she heard one freshman whisper to her friend: _"I would never have thought that bulimic girl was a slut, but..."_

Suddenly she felt someone grasp her slushie-covered hand and lead her quickly to the bathroom, before sitting her down softly on the counter by the taps. Marley opened her eyes slowly and blinked several times, attempting to clear her vision so she could see whoever was now dabbing at her face with a wet paper towel. Just the glimpse of floppy chestnut hair confirmed her suspicions, and she tried to speak (though it came out as more of a raw whisper). "Ryder, you don't have to do this-"

"Yes, I do." Ryder insisted as he grabbed another paper towel and softly wiped off some more of the icy beverage covering her skin. "They weren't treating you right out there."

"C-Can you blame them, though?" She shivered, looking down. "The bad-boy of the school got the innocent, goodie-two-shoes knocked up... it doesn't really make me sound too good, does it?" Marley chuckled humourlessly.

Ryder sighed as he continued to wipe the blue slushie of the girl's face. "He probably didn't intend to, you know. Jake's an ass and he pressures girls like you into things that you shouldn't be forced into doing too soon, but he wouldn't do _that_ on purpose... would he?"

"He didn't. But he _did_ walk out on me the minute I told him," Marley began before Ryder scoffed at the statement in an irritated manner. "Classy, right?"

"And what do your parents think?" Ryder couldn't help but ask cautiously.

"They were actually... really supportive. They said they'd help me. I guess they don't have the right to judge me, though - my mom only had me when she was 19 or something."

Ryder smiled as he got another tissue. After a few minutes of silence, he asked another question with a somewhat quivering voice. "So it's true that you're... keeping the baby?"

Marley hesitated before answering. "I think so. I couldn't bear to do anything else... it would be even harder that way. I just hope that he or she doesn't look too much like _him_." Marley sniffed as she looked down. "I thought I could trust Jake with anything, you know? I thought we would be together forever. I guess that's what I get for being too naïve, huh?"

Ryder wiped away the last of what was on her face before lifting Marley's head up by her chin. "You deserve so much more, you know that? It seems harsh, but I think you need to forget about him. Maybe it's better off this way - better to leave you before the baby's born than to leave both of you all at once." Ryder tried to comfort her. Marley offered a slight smile but sadness still took over most of her face.

The brunette sighed deeply. "Thank you for actually trying to help me out of this sticky mess - literally." The pair chuckled. "I think I'm just going to go home and lie down, maybe get out of these soggy clothes." Marley looked into Ryder's eyes and offered a full smile.

"Call me if you ever need me, okay?" He whispered as she slid off the table.

"Okay," Marley whispered back, "Thanks again, Ryder. I know I can count on you." And with that, Marley slid through the door and out of school.

_-(x)-_

Due in just 2 months, Marley lay on the couch with a bowl filled to the brim with cookie dough and brownie ice cream - something her baby craved for constantly. Her few friends and family had adjusted to the teenager's constant mood-swings and nagging, and had catered for her around her cravings (as well as the things she was put off from eating).

It was the weekend, and her best friend - the only person at the school who didn't judge her - Ryder, was once again accompanying her in watching a movie marathon. As several months had passed, Rachel and Finn were still very supportive of their daughter, and the people at school were still the opposite; Marley's fellow students had, however, slowly gotten used to the turn of events, though Marley still earned a few glances and murmurs when she walked through the corridor.

As for the baby, it was completely healthy. At the four month mark, the mother-to-be had decided that she wanted the baby's gender to remain a secret until she actually saw the baby in front of her eyes.

"Hey, Ry, check this out." Marley stated half way through one of her all-time favourite movies, _Catching Fire_. Ryder tore his eyes from the television screen to look curiously at his friend. "What is it, Mar?" he chuckled as he saw her mischievous grin.

"Look," the brunette stated simply. Without further ado, the mother-to-be placed her ice cream bowl on her large, growing belly until it balanced effortlessly by itself. "Tadaaaah!"

Ryder couldn't help but laugh at Marley and her proud face as the ice-cream bowl wobbled slightly because Marley, too, began chuckling. Only minutes ago, the girl's hormones had caused her to cry uncontrollably for minutes at a sad point in the movie, and now, she was doing this. There was never a dull moment. "You're crazy."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Marley spoke as she smirked. Taking the bowl off her baby bump, she sat up. "Ryyyyderrrrr?"

"Yeeeessss?"

"What do your parents think about you hanging out with me?"

Ryder bit the inside of his mouth. His parents' initial response was that Ryder should "keep his distance from the girl", but if the boy ever told Marley this, she would fuss and tell Ryder to leave for his own good. The boy knew her very well.

"Well, they think that what I'm doing is very kind and very considerate," Ryder lied (only slightly - his parents were slowly accepting the matter) before reaching for Marley's hand and bringing it to his lips, planting a kiss on it reassuringly.

Marley giggled. "I think they're right. You're very sweet, Ry."

"Anything for you, m'lady." Ryder joked as he kissed her on the cheek in a friendly manner - he hoped it wasn't obvious, though, that he wanted something more.

Marley tore her cheek away from his lips to look into his eyes, wanting to know what the boy was thinking. Without questioning her own ludicrous thoughts, Marley leaned forward hurriedly as if it was the only chance she would ever get, and pressed her lips against Ryder's with a sudden passion. Overwhelmed at first, Ryder began kissing back and soon the kiss became heated and the two had to pull away to breathe but went back to each other instantly afterwards. A rather carnal noise arose out of the brunette's throat as she gripped Ryder by the waist, pulling him on top of her, her hands then wandering under his T-shirt and up his chest.

It was then that realisation hit Marley and her thought process informed her as to what she was doing. Tearing away from Ryder quickly, flustered, she pulled away and got up from the couch. "No, damn it, stop!"

Ryder was now deeply concerned and self-conscious. Did he do something wrong? "What is it?"

"I shouldn't- I-I... can't-" Marley dug her fingers into her temples as she paced the room.

Ryder felt utterly helpless. "Was it me?"

"No, God, i-it wasn't you, Ry." Marley sighed as she stopped pacing. Mumbling (though Ryder could still hear her), Marley scolded herself. "Damn hormones, always ruining everything..."

"Oh, right," Ryder whispered. Of course it wasn't Marley that kissed him like that - it was obviously just a small phase, like the crying. He was too naïve to even consider that as an option.

"I'm so sorry," Marley breathed out the apology, looking at Ryder, pleading for forgiveness.

"It's okay." He smiled slightly. "But uh- I should probably go now-"

"No!" Marley demanded of him with utter desperation. "Please, please stay with me." She stopped the boy by placing her hand on his chest. He stared at her for a few seconds before muttering an incoherent response and sitting back down; Marley soon waddled over and sat closely next to him.

"You know I love you, right?" She whispered as she interlaced one of his hands in her own two. Ryder looked at her, knowing she probably meant it completely platonically, before smiling in a defeated fashion and nodding. Marley grinned. "Good."

After a while, Marley rested her head on Ryder's broad shoulder as he found his hands wrapped around her waist protectively.

There was another deafening silence before Marley broke it. "I hope that one day, when my brain isn't quite so... crazy," Ryder chuckled at her way of phrasing it, "Maybe we could... go out... sometime?" She blushed as she bit her lip.

Ryder was hesitant but couldn't help the grin that was slowly teasing at his mouth. "Of course."

"Because I really... like you. And you've always been there for me, especially now. I think I just needed something to come over me to tell you that and... yeah." Marley sighed, glad that her feelings were out in the open now. Ryder answered by pressing his lips softly to the corner of her mouth, causing Marley to grin

uncontrollably.

_-(x)-_

Marley whimpered, "But Mom-"

"No buts," Rachel rebuffed. "You're due any day now, and you need to get some rest."

"It's barely 8pm. I'm pretty sure that-"

"Honey, please. It's for your own good _and_ the baby's good. Besides, aren't you exhausted from walking around school all day?" Rachel reasoned with her pregnant daughter as she stroked up and down her arm sympathetically.

Marley sighed, defeated. "Well, yeah, but..."

"Why don't you do everyone a favour and listen to your mother, sweetheart?" Finn's voice echoed through from the kitchen before he stepped into the living room where the two girls were sitting.

Marley caved as she let out a yawn. "...Okay. I'll see you two in the morning for school." The teenager launched her heavy weight off the couch before kissing her mother and father goodnight.

"Sweet dreams, Marls."

After their daughter had waddled up the stairs, Rachel found herself giggling. "It's like when she was a little girl, and she would always refuse to go to bed." Marley's mother recalled.

"Yeah." Finn agreed. After a moment's silence, he piped up once more, this time asking something that he had been constantly wondering about. "Are the people at school still unkind to her?"

Rachel sighed. "I think they're used to seeing her now. But, you know, there are still whispers..." She looked down to her hands, which were fiddling in her lap. "I just get so worried about her, Finn-"

"I know. But soon this will all be over and we'll have a little one crawling around the house again," Finn and Rachel grinned at that thought. "Just like when we had her."

_-(x)-_

"M-Mom?" Marley called out with a quivering voice; she was afraid. It was around 2am that same night and Marley didn't want to move in case something else happened. So she stayed there in her bedroom, completely motionless, as she leaned one hand on her bed and the other on the nearby wall, standing and staring below her. She heard nothing, so she called again, this time louder. "Mom?!"

Rachel slowly awoke to that, and, trying not to wake Finn as she rose from their bed and began to walk down the hallway, she groggily answered in her half-asleep state. "Sweetie?"

When she found the door to Marley's room amongst the dark, she slid through the gap and switched on the light. She saw her daughter, standing beside her bed, a clear pool of liquid at her feet and her pyjama pant leg wet.

"I got up to go to the bathroom, b-but-" Marley began, before being cut off by her mother.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Rachel breathed before going over to her daughter, sitting her on the edge of the bed and easing her pyjama pants off for her. "Come on. We need to get you to the hospital."

Marley was handed a fresh pair of pants and ordered to put them on before Rachel went back to her and Finn's room, waking Finn and ordering him to get dressed as she began to hurriedly do the same.

_-(x)-_

"Mom!" Marley whimpered as she cried at the pain bolting through her. Once at the hospital, she was rushed to a room where she changed into hospital clothing and was laid down in a bed. She was going through constant pain (as is normal in labour) and was progressing slowly. Sweat was gathering at her forehead and on her face as strands of her dishevelled hair stuck to it. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried again, "Mom!"

"I'm right here, honey." Rachel cooed as she held her hand supportively.

"Where's Dad?" Marley panted.

"He's at the vending machine, getting you some water and snacks. He'll be back in a second." Rachel grabbed a soft cloth and began to wipe her forehead and her face of perspiration.

"I don't care!" Marley found herself yelling at her mother, even though it was her that had asked about her father's whereabouts (this was all due to the intense pain). "I just want this baby out of me!" Marley dug her head into the many pillows on the bed, gasping.

11 hours later at around 10:45am, Marley was told to start pushing. Gripping the hands of her parents, she pushed as hard as she could and, despite times where she was giving up and stopping, she persevered in the end.

"Come on, Marls," Finn cheered, "One more!"

Marley completed these orders, struggling, and soon the cries of a baby erupted through the room. Marley closed her eyes as she let the sounds console her, slowly reclining in the hospital bed. Soon, her parents were towering over her, telling her she did a good job, before one of the nurses wrapped her baby in soft fabric and carried it over to Marley.

"Wait, what is it? Boy or girl?!" Marley beamed despite her ever-overpowering, drowsy state.

"Girl, Miss Hudson. You have a beautiful baby girl." The nurse smiled warmly as Marley cried tears of joy, grasping her baby girl for the first time and looking down at her lovingly.

"Hello, beautiful baby girl," Marley mirrored the words as she cooed to her crying daughter.

_-(x)-_

3:15pm. Marley had awoken up from her nap (which was advised by the nurses and doctors) and was now cradling her baby again as the small infant slept peacefully. The child's adoring grandparents watched from the corner of the room, where Rachel was perching on Finn's lap in a seat. Suddenly, Marley looked up to them and smiled lovingly at her mother and father. "Thank you," she whispered softly.

"That's okay, sweetie." Rachel answered with tears in her eyes. "We'll always be here."

"And me." came a deep voice from the room's door.

Marley spun her head around to the voice. "J-Jake?" Her voice getting slightly louder, she spoke, "what are you doing here?"

Rachel felt her husband tense up as Finn began to rise from the seat, but his wife got in the way and refrained him from doing whatever he was intending to do.

"I wanted to see my daughter and..." Jake looked directly at Marley. "I wanted to apologise for being suck a jerk to you."

"I think it's a little late for that." Marley hissed back coldly. "You're not needed here, okay?"

"Mar, please. Two minutes, that's all I ask."

Marley sighed, looking to her parents then to her new-born child. She was too weak at the time to protest. "Okay, fine. Two minutes."

A few minutes later, Rachel and Finn saw from a distance that Jake had left Marley's room, and they took that as a queue to return to their daughter's bedside. Stepping in cautiously, they asked. "So?"

"So... he still wants to be there for her financially and see her sometimes, but it's over. We mutually broke up, I guess." Marley shrugged. She was glad the rough edges had been smoothed out and she could now focus on her daughter. "Seeing him again... it made me realise that she doesn't look like him at all, even though I thought she did at first. And I guess that's a good thing."

"So, you two are alright now?" Finn asked Marley as he looked adoringly at his little granddaughter.

"Yeah, I suppose." Marley smiled. "C-Can... Can I be alone with her? Please?" The new mother looked up to her parents. "And after, you guys can hold her again?"

"Sure." Rachel smiled before giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. She and Finn left soon after.

After a few minutes of being alone with her daughter, Marley heard a knock at the door and looked through the tiny window of the door to see who it was. Beaming, she gestured for the visitor, who was holding a bouquet of her favourite flowers - peonies - to come in.

"Hey," Ryder whispered as he padded over carefully to the chair beside Marley's bed, sitting down on it slowly and placing the flowers in a vase on the table next to her.

"Hey," Marley grinned before looking down to her daughter again. She was so happy that her baby was finally here.

"I passed Jake on the way up here." said Ryder. "Did you guys sort things out?"

"Yeah, we did." Marley smiled, still looking down at her child.

"So, are you guys... going out again?"

"No," Marley stated, "but he apologised, and he's going to help us financially a bit and visit her on weekends, so we're cool."

"Good." Ryder smiled. Seeing her happy made him even happier.

Slowly, Ryder shuffled closer and bent over slightly to see Marley's daughter for the first time. A grin crept on his face as he murmured, "She's so beautiful; she looks so much like her beautiful mother."

Marley giggled at his charming statement before looking into his eyes. "Thank you for helping me. I know it doesn't stop here and you'll probably be even more helpful and kind after we get out of this hospital, but I wanted to thank you."

"It's nothing," Ryder brushed off, "thank _you_ for letting me be a part of this."

Marley smiled softly at Ryder before leaning in and pressing a soft and loving kiss to his lips, which Ryder reciprocated instantly with equal gentleness. Once they had pulled away and kissed a second time, Marley leaned their foreheads together softly for a while, then she turned back to her new-born child. "Maybe one day you can come over for a play-date - Mom and I might need the extra help over the next few weeks because Dad's gonna be at work a lot." Marley teased, causing Ryder to grin and agree to the idea.

"So," Marley spoke again after a while, "I'm kind of stuck on names." She giggled. "Got any in mind?"

Rachel and Finn watched lovingly from the window as Ryder and Marley giggled, trying to pick a name for her baby girl. "That Rick kid is a nice fella, don't you think?"

"Uh, honey," Finn chuckled, "I think his name is Ryder."

"Oh..." said Rachel as she watched the teenager in question. "Well, I was close enough."

"May I suggest you learn the guy's name? Because..." Finn watched as his daughter looked lovingly at Ryder, "I think we'll be seeing him a lot more often."

Rachel looked as they laughed and watched Marley's new-born together happily. "Yeah. But I swear, if he hurts our Marley, I am not afraid to cut off his limbs with my rusty spoon. I swear to God, I will!"

Finn laughed at his wife. "Of course you will, Rach."

_**Isabella Jayne Hudson**_

_**6lbs 7oz**_

_**Born at Lima Memorial Hospital, Ohio**_

_-(x)-_

**Aaaand that's it! Story 2 complete. I hope you enjoyed it. I loved writing this one :-)**

**I honestly can't say when I will post the next chapter of New Perspective, but whilst you are waiting…**

_PLEASE SUGGEST ANY PROMPTS IN A REVIEW OR IN A PM. IT CAN BE IN THE FORM OF A PLOT LINE, A FEW BRIEF WORDS, A PHRASE, PROVERB OR A QUOTE THAT YOU WANT SOMEWHERE IN THE STORY. THANK YOU!_

**-Beth :P**


	3. Chickening Out

**Hi, sorry I've been gone for a long time again! I haven't really had much access to a computer over the past few days and I've had a ton of work (and, now that it's that time of year again, revision *shudder*). **

**Nevertheless, here was a request from chubby4567. Thanks for your really creative request! This story was so fun to write. I hope you are pleased with it despite the slightly cleaner ending (I had to make sure it still fit with the T rating).**

**Just for the heads up on this one: Glee Club was not cancelled in this.**

_PLOT: Marley and Ryder have been dating since junior year. Now seniors and living in two different worlds in their high school life, Marley begins to feel uncomfortable and unwanted, so she breaks up with Ryder out of fear and tells him a lie: she slept with someone else. When Ryder finds out that Marley was merely telling a fib, he is left confused and hurt; despite this, however, the boy turns on his flirtatious charm (which he knows Marley can't resist) and attempts everything he can to get her back - even the most ridiculous ideas._

* * *

It all started at the beginning of senior year.

A new semester was arriving, and with it, Marley's constant insecurities. The brunette was still aware of her body issues and, although only relapsing occasionally now, she was still self-conscious about how she looked. But her boyfriend, Ryder, would help her through it.

Ryder: her boyfriend since junior year. They were the power couple of McKinley. But despite the glory and the general happiness of being with Ryder, she still felt uneasy. Ryder and Marley lived in two separate worlds alongside the hanging-by-a-thread Glee Club: Marley was in the Young Writers Club and Knitting Club, but Ryder focused his attention more on sports, re-joining the basketball team and coaching the freshman teams, now that he was a senior. Ryder aimed for a football scholarship in Philadelphia once high school was finished; Marley, instead, aimed for journalism, although she was still looking for part-time jobs linking to music nearby her college possibilities. Two different spheres of interest. They supported each other, of course, but they were never quite the same.

Marley couldn't take it anymore. Someone like Ryder, a jock, someone the girls of the school now swooned over constantly, was dating _her_, plain old goody-two-shoes Marley Rose. She felt insecure about how she was so different from him, and how she couldn't fit into their crowd despite having gone to all of his games and being his girlfriend. Marley Rose was no quitter, but she just couldn't hack it.

So, on the weekend of their first week back after spring break, talking in his garden over lemonade, she ripped the beverage from his hand and put it aside with hers.

"Ryder, we need to talk..." Marley started, looking at the ground. Was she really about to do this?

"Okay," Ryder smiled. "What about?"

"Um... I just..." Marley didn't know how to phrase it so that she didn't sound insane.

"Mar," Ryder grasped her small hand with his large ones, "you can tell me, okay? I understand-"

"I just don't feel comfortable in this relationship anymore." Marley sputtered out, hands shaking in his.

This took Ryder by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... you're a jock! You're this popular guy and all the girls are drooling over you and I just think..." Marley took a deep breath to compose herself; this was harder than she had first anticipated, "I just don't think we fit. I don't think I live up to the expectations that you want and need and I'm sorry, but I can't change and I just don't feel comfortable." Marley breathed out, still not looking at him.

"Marley," Ryder tilted her chin up with a finger so that she was, inescapably, looking right at him. "I'd hate for you to feel uncomfortable, but there's nothing to feel uncomfortable about. I mean, you're beautiful; you're smart, funny, kind, loving, sensible, sexy... and just because you can't add 'sporty' to that list, doesn't mean I will ever stop loving you. Those other girls have nothing compared to you, Marley." Ryder grinned as he leaned in for a soft, sweet kiss, which Marley reciprocated.

She sighed. "I don't know. I mean, those girls can offer you more. Especially... sexually..." Marley muttered. She loved Ryder, and, although she had already lost her virginity to him, the girl couldn't help but feel like he felt stuck with her; that she was lesser than the other girls.

"Marley, don't say that. Please." Ryder begged.

"But it's true, isn't it?" Marley replied bitterly.

"No, baby, it's not." Ryder insisted as he kissed her hand.

There was a silence.

Marley sniffed as a tear crawled effortlessly down her cheek. "Whatever. Forget it." She declared, tearing her hand away from Ryder as she began to leave.

"Wait! Marley, give me one reason why you're breaking up with me. A valid one, please. I deserve to know!" He pleaded desperately after the love of his life.

"Because I..." This made Marley think. Why _was_ she doing this? Yes, because she felt insecure and they didn't fit. But did that matter? After a while, she concluded: yes, it did matter. "Because we would have broken up anyway at some point, Ryder. I love you more than anything, yes. But you're going to Philadelphia and I'm probably going anywhere _but_ Philadelphia."

"But, Marley..." Ryder persisted. He wasn't going to let this go, so Marley had to think of another reason. Fast.

"I slept with someone else!" Marley yelled through tears before she could comprehend the bizarre sentence herself.

"You _what_?" Ryder muttered.

"You were at another one of your countless parties, and I was by myself in the house, lonely! All by myself! So I panicked, and it happened." Marley lied through her teeth.

"What's this guy's name, then?!" Ryder yelled back, now angry.

"Amos!" Marley screamed the first name that came to mind. "Amos Parker, in the Young Writers Club with me!" Marley barked. But she soon broke and her voice softened as tears streamed down her face. "It was a huge mistake, and I'm sorry. I love you more than anything, Ryder. But I screwed up when I felt alone and you should just break up with me now. I'm sorry."

Ryder was speechless, and his absent words gave Marley time to run straight back to her house.

The boy was hurt. His girlfriend had been uncomfortable and alone, but he was too busy being in the crowd to notice her insecurities. Instead, she had snapped, and she had done something that wasn't her... it didn't seem to add up. Ryder knew Marley, and there wasn't a single reason why she would do this, despite what the girl had claimed.

_Amos Parker_. That name was unknown to Ryder's now-clouded brain. He didn't remember seeing an Amos Parker when his now ex-girlfriend brought him to Young Writers Club to introduce him to the club's members, and that was only last semester. It was impossible, and Ryder needed answers about his lover's sudden flight.

The chestnut-haired boy found himself at his laptop, and was soon logged onto the school site. The boy typed in 'Young Writers Club' as a whole page of information on the club came up. Ryder skimmed through the unnecessary information until he found what he required: a list of all of the members. He scanned through the list of past and present students until the list ended.

No Amos Parker.

It didn't make sense. As if to confirm his suspicions, Ryder searched 'Amos Parker' among the student index. Again, no Amos Parker was found.

Then, it came to Ryder. His cloudy brain filtered and cleared away all of the bizarre thoughts of before to make room for an even crazier one. Of course Marley wouldn't cheat - there wasn't a bone in her body that would do that to Ryder, the one who she loved most of all in this world. Ryder slammed down his laptop, though he wasn't angry - he was just very, very confused.

Amos Parker didn't exist - or, at least, certainly not at McKinley High School.

* * *

The next few days, Ryder strived for a plan. He was determined to get Marley back, and, after filtering through the thousands of ideas rushing through his head, he thought of something. Ever since they first started dating, something always turned Marley into mush: Ryder's touch. It was an incredibly cliché idea, and one that would be tough to execute, but Ryder finally conjured up a few concepts to get Marley to want him again. So, he acted on these things when the school week next arrived.

The Glee Club was determined to slash the other show choirs at Nationals again this year and, hopefully, turn out on top. Getting there was not easy, though, and Mr Schue called various different rehearsals, booty camps and the like every week. It was tiring, of course, but fun at the same time.

"First of all", Ryder thought, "to bring more energy to the next dance rehearsal." And that he did.

Ryder smirked as he arrived in the auditorium, watching everyone's expressions as he walked in slowly. Kitty turned around and, upon encountering Ryder, crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh, Bieber, I know you probably can't count but... you're only wearing half of your booty camp clothes."

Marley had been drinking water whilst fishing through her bag for something at the time and, upon hearing Kitty's words, she looked up whilst still drinking and caught sight of Ryder. Ryder was wearing sweatpants and converse, but no shirt to accompany his outfit, leaving his toned and muscular body on show for the entire club to marvel at. Once Marley had seen her ex walk in, she spat out the water she had in her mouth by accident, still in surprise over her ex-boyfriend's choice of clothing for the rehearsal.

Ryder saw Marley as she turned around and spat out her water, and an even bigger smirk teased at the corners of his mouth. He witnessed innocently as the brunette began frantically apologising to everyone and mopping up the mess she had created with a nearby cloth.

"And _why_ is it that you haven't got a shirt on?" A new freshman boy member of the club asked Ryder.

"Well," he began, "I'm hot. And although I want to focus, I can't focus if I'm overheated. Therefore, I am shirtless." Ryder proclaimed as everyone agreed that it was alright for him to be without a shirt for the rehearsal (apart from Marley who, of course, stayed silent whilst she still tried to mop up the water she had spilt from earlier).

Ryder found his way over to Marley, who was on her hands and knees as she wiped up the mess. The boy looked down at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Need any help, Marley?"

Marley looked up from her work to be met with Ryder's slender physique. "Abs!" She exclaimed the first thought in her mind, scolding herself internally as soon as the uttered the word. "Abs... olutely not." She corrected herself poorly, "I'm fine by myself, thank you." The brunette completed the sentence and stammered the words out. Ryder grinned as the rest of the club bemusedly witnessed the event; his plan had worked so far, and she was slowly falling into it.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Ryder had completed more and more of his teasing and flirtatious ideas to 'woo' Marley and take her back. One in particular had caught the girl by surprise the most...

_Marley was by her locker, spinning her combination before retrieving her books. Ryder ran up to her._

_"Hey, Marley!" Ryder greeted energetically from behind, making her jump and turn around to meet his gaze hurriedly._

_"Oh h-hi, Ryder," Marley said awkwardly, "Um, how are you?"_

_"Shut up for a second." _

_Marley was surprised by his sudden rude behaviour. She raised an eyebrow, "Um, _excuse me_?"_

_Before Marley could say anything more, she was silenced by a sudden action: an extremely deep kiss from Ryder. She let out a tiny noise of shock as he continued to kiss her with bruising pressure, before she began to kiss back, savouring the peculiar moment herself. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she tangled her arms around him, her hands eventually landing at the sides of his face. The kiss lasted several seconds before someone in the hallway wolf-whistled and broke them apart. Marley was now completely flustered, and the pair caught their breath whilst Ryder smirked at Marley still-shocked face._

_"It was really great to talk to you again." Ryder began, grinning._

_"Uh... yeah..." Marley spoke in an exasperated manner._

_"Listen, I've got to dash but I'll see you round." Ryder spoke nonchalantly over the other voices in the hallway as he backed away from a red-faced Marley. "Talk to you later, Marley!"_

_"Uh, okay," Marley mumbled, still trying to get her breathing back to normal after the very passionate kiss._

_Having witnessed the event, Unique twisted herself through the crowded hallway over to Marley. "Whoa, that sure was something. Are you two going out again, then?" Unique asked her friend._

_"Uh, no," Marley bit her lip, still not taking her eyes off the direction Ryder had headed off in. "We just passed each other in the hallway, that's all."_

Since that event (and the various others), Marley had been questioning her actions all those months ago more and more. She had been such an idiot to break up with him, she finally thought. And, when his final act of seduction struck, it was harder than ever to say "no" - Ryder asked Marley to their senior prom. However, as Ryder was awaiting her answer, Marley suddenly thought of all the consequences it could have. Her heart could be broken again, and she didn't want to let that happen. So, kicking herself on the inside, she politely declined and informed the boy that she was going solo, just to have a good time with her friends.

* * *

The day itself had finally arrived. Marley arrived at McKinley and stepped out of her car with Unique and Santana (who was in town visiting and insisted on coming with the girls) to enter the school. Marley was wearing a baby blue dress with a sweetheart neckline, the dress stopping down at her feet. A band of crystals was situated around the definite curve of her waist, acting as a mark between her top and bottom half. To preserve her ever-simple look, Marley wore no jewellery except for crystal stud earrings to match her dress. Her hair was tied up in a beautiful, curled, messy bun and her makeup was done slightly dramatically around her eyes, but still held the modest look that Marley Rose would always present. Walking in, Marley felt confident. She felt beautiful, she felt pretty, and she felt extraordinary; she felt like it was _her night_.

For most of the night, Marley just talked and danced with her friends. She was beaming the entire time, apart from, of course, when the slow songs came on. Everyone had someone, and everyone was holding their partners close as they swayed to the soft, mellow music that was amplified and through the room. As it echoed, Marley sat on one of the bleachers at the side, cupping her cheeks in her hands, propped up by her elbows. As the ballad continued to play, she scanned her cerulean eyes over the room. Couples were scattered around, swaying, laughing, kissing, and holding each other closely. They all reminded her of Ryder and herself at prom in junior year, and as the song played on for a final chorus, she scanned her eyes over the other side of the stadium.

And there he was. Ryder was looking into his lap as the song appeared to haunt him, and a pang of guilt slid through Marley's veins at the sight of him. He looked so miserable.

Luckily, the song ended, but Marley could not move. Instead, the brunette just witnessed as Ryder got up from his seat and out of the door, venturing out into the hallways of the school.

"Why the long face, hot stuff?" Santana's voice interrupted Marley's heavy thoughts. Marley lifted her head up to see the girl herself walk over to her, Unique following behind.

"Yeah, honey, you look pretty blue. Besides your awesome dress, I mean." Unique stated, causing Marley to smile slightly.

"I don't know... I guess I'm just having second thoughts about going solo." Marley explained shyly.

Santana mumbled to Unique: "should we be insulted, or...?"

"No, no, you guys are making me better - I'd be even sadder if you weren't here!" Marley chuckled. "It's just... I mean..."

"Oh, _right_," Unique finally understood. "You're talking about Bieber again."

"I just- what if I made the wrong decision by dumping him? I lied so that I could chicken out of our relationship when it got difficult. But he's been teasing me and giving me all of these signs, and I don't know... I know it'll hurt when we leave high school, but for now I just want to be with him. I love him, you know? But..." Marley whined before putting her head in her hands and speaking through her fingers. "It's so complicated."

"Doesn't sound complicated to me..." Santana chimed. "You obviously love Mister McSappy, and since you've told me all about how he can also be _extremely_ sexy-"

"Santana!" Marley interrupted her, starting to blush violently.

"Whatever. My point is you love him. You just need to open those massive blue eyes of yours and see that he still loves you and wants you, too." Santana continued.

"I agree." Unique said. "Now, go get him before someone else does!"

With that, Marley hugged her friends before getting out of the stuffy room to search for Ryder down the halls of McKinley High. Around 10 minutes into the search, she eventually found him sitting on the desks in a classroom. Marley knocked on the door gingerly and Ryder cocked his head up in surprise before catching sight of her at the door. He beckoned her in and Marley did so.

"Hey," Marley mumbled shyly.

"H-Hey," Ryder greeted her back, still surprised that she was here. "Shouldn't you be downstairs with your friends?"

"Nah, it got boring." Marley stated as she shut the door and walked closer to him. "Besides, it's no party without Ryder Lynn down there." She teased. Ryder grinned into his lap before looking back up at her.

There was a silence, before Marley broke it. "C-Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you do all of those things? Really?" Marley asked, but when Ryder looked at her confusedly, she explained further. "The kiss, the shirtless dance rehearsal... you know."

"Well, because I know you. I know you more than you think I do, Marley."

"Really?" Marley asked with raised eyebrows. "Give me an example."

"I know that you didn't sleep with someone else, and that Amos Parker is totally non-existent." Ryder confessed, shocking Marley.

"Whoa, I did not see _that_ coming." Marley bit her lip. "How d'you know?"

"I may be dyslexic, but I can do my research." Ryder smirked as Marley sat by him on the desk. "Besides, sleeping with someone else is a really un-Marley thing to do. It's just not you. Especially after what your Dad did to your Mom when you were little." Ryder spoke of the time when Marley's father did the same, and he escaped once Marley's mother found out.

Marley nodded slowly. "You know me way too well."

Ryder smiled before continuing. "Anyway, I was determined to get you back, so I tempted you in ways that I knew you'd melt over. My final move was to ask you to prom, and when you declined, I guess I was surprised. I underestimated you, Marley Rose. You have more power over people than you realise." Ryder confessed, causing Marley to grin at the floor beneath them. "Now, can I ask _you_ a question?"

"By all means."

"Why did you break up with me? I still haven't really got a straight answer..." Ryder asked, dying to know.

"Well..." Marley began to explain, "I think I was just scared. I mean, we're almost out of this school, and I just thought it was going to happen anyway because we're going to be in two separate places doing two separate things-"

"Mar, you know that doesn't necessarily mean we'll break up..." Ryder trailed off in desperation.

"I know, and I was stupid, but I guess I just suddenly got really uncomfortable with the aspect of losing you. And I thought that maybe if I broke up with you myself beforehand, it would hurt less. I was wrong, though. I needed a valid excuse otherwise it would hurt more when you tried to hold on, so I created Amos Parker as an escape route." Marley looked into her lap.

"Well," Ryder said after a long silence, "I'm not going to let you slip away so easily this time, Rose. You're not getting away that fast." He proclaimed, grinning.

Marley looked up from her lap and looked into his eyes, before her eyes trailed down to his lap. In his hands, Ryder was holding a beautiful peony corsage with a blue ribbon band to match her eyes - and her dress. Marley grinned as she looked back up to his face. "You remembered about the peonies."

"I never forgot." Ryder whispered. He opened the corsage out and held it towards the brunette girl's wrist. "May I?"

Marley nodded, looking at him like he was the most beautiful thing in the world. Ryder carefully clasped the corsage over Marley's pale, thin wrist. She smiled as his gaze lifted and turned right to her, and soon she was leaning in slowly for a long overdue kiss. The kiss lasted seconds before Marley found herself giving him another one, and so they went on.

* * *

"Marley?" Santana called into the umpteenth room as she looked for the girl in question. "Unique and I are- whoa..." She was halted of her statement when she noticed the girl herself lying on a desk in the classroom, being straddled by her previously-ex-boyfriend at the waist. Ryder was holding a fistful of her dress, which had ridden up to her thigh. The boy's face and neck were covered in her lipstick, which was smudged around the brunette's face and neck herself. Santana couldn't help the laugh that shook through her bones. "Well, I see that the spiked punch that got under Sue's nose really gave you guys some Dutch courage..." Santana smirked.

Marley was now propped up on her elbows, still underneath Ryder, who was blushing hysterically. "What is it, Santana?" Marley whispered agitatedly to her friend.

"Unique and I were going to be heading off soon, but if you want to go home with Lover Boy and finish what you quite obviously started, I understand completely." Santana chuckled.

"Uh... my mom would kill me if she found out." Marley spoke apologetically to Ryder.

He nodded and mumbled, "That's okay. I'll see you on Saturday."

"Okay," Marley smiled apologetically, before giving him a final, sweet kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." Ryder smiled before getting off her. Marley got up, flattening her dress out and fixing her hair, before going to meet Santana at the door of the classroom. Marley gave a wry smile and a nod to her previous mentor before stepping out into the hallways of the school.

"Goodnight, Bieber." Santana smirked before leaving and following her friend.

"Always a pleasure, Santana Lopez." Ryder muttered sarcastically.

Marley would surely never hear the end of her ridiculing friends, and this event would now probably be spoken throughout generations of McKinley students past and present, but despite this, she was pleased. Ryder and she were together again, and an infinite amount of teasing was a small price to pay for that.

* * *

**Awww, did you like the totally cheesy ending? I'm kind of a sucker for that sort of thing.**

**To let you know in advance, the next one-shot was requested by undyingparticles and I can't wait to show it to you all! I've already written it, so I just need to proof-read and it'll be up (hopefully) soon :-)**

**See you on the flip side,**

**-Beth :P**


	4. Enigma

**Hello, again! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been really busy. Anyway, this is a request from undyingparticles and I am quite proud of this one. I understand that I bent and manipulated the brief slightly, but I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it!**

**I don't own the songs and the characters mentioned, guys.**

_PLOT: (AU) McKinley High senior, Marley Rose, is a rebel who ditches class to hang out (and smoke) under the bleachers - alone. This is until she meets Ryder Lynn, a junior, who discovers her in her hiding spot during football practice. Although cautious at first (given her dangerous exterior), the two grow fonder of each other._

* * *

"Move it, boys! I've seen 90 year old men play ball better than this!" Coach Beiste projected her distinctive, deep voice over the area of the football pitch. Her young football players were hanging off every word she said, and at her words, their effort increased.

Among the now-exhausted football players was Ryder Lynn, a junior, charming and tenacious. Source of positivity on the squad, believer of all things wild and wonderful - he was the classic American sweetheart that every girl would swoon over.

The chestnut-haired boy scored a goal once again and cheered, beginning his infamous endgame dance as Coach Beiste blew the whistle. Setting himself on the floor, doing the worm, he soon heard a distant laugh. A _girl_ laugh.

Ryder didn't understand - the only woman on the pitch at that moment was his loud and bossy coach. He listened intently, wondering if he could pick up anything else. Nothing.

"Come on, Lynn! Stop daydreaming and get your ass into the locker room like the rest of 'em!" Coach Beiste's loud voice shattered his thoughts as he hurriedly got up to join the crowd of his fellow team members heading to the locker room. Looking back across the field, he suddenly saw a shadow under the bleachers that didn't quite fit the rest... it looked like the silhouette of a girl, and as Ryder squinted (an attempt to fix his gaze wholly on her), his suspicions were confirmed.

* * *

Ryder breathed fiercely through his nostrils as he ran another lap around the pitch. He wanted to keep in shape for his next game, but, upon seeing the beautiful spring weather, he desired to take advantage of the outdoors. Only a few others were outside and, besides, it was a big improvement from lifting weights in the same crowded, foul-smelling locker room. After finishing another lap around the pitch, the boy stopped to catch his breath, keeling over himself and placing his hands on his knees as his chest rose up and down rapidly. A few seconds passed, then, a voice interrupted his heavy breathing.

"A little out of breath?" Came the sarcastic voice of a woman from behind him.

Ryder turned his head around to see who owned the voice and was met by a girl, appearing through the shadows. The girl wore a sleeveless, unbuttoned, black jean jacket, accompanying a black top with silver studs scattered all over it. The girl wore simple black lace-up boots and torn tights with a black mini skirt, and the girls long, brunette hair fell effortlessly down her front and back in waves - highlights of pastel pinks and blues accompanied the natural streaks of brown. Velvety red lipstick graced the girl's lips, as did a generous amount of intricate (and, once again, black) eye makeup. As the sun began to shine on her pale skin, Ryder noticed her piercing blue eyes and an unmistakable feature on her face that glinted in the sunlight: a nose ring. The mysterious girl smirked, hands in pockets, adding to her dangerous appearance.

"H-Hi there." Ryder stuttered, looking her up and down.

"Hi." The girl grinned. "I'm Marley. Senior." Marley put her hand out for Ryder to shake.

"Ryder..." The boy said absent-mindedly, shaking her hand cautiously. "...You go here?"

"Yeah, technically, I go here." Marley shook his hand back. "Not sure if it still counts if you only attend a few of the classes you have all year, but yeah." She added as an afterthought, sticking her hand back in the pocket of her jean jacket.

"Oh," Ryder said, unsure of what to say to the girl. "I-I'm in junior year. I'm on the football team..."

"I know, I've seen you play. Your endgame dances are sick." Marley smiled, complimenting the chestnut-haired boy.

Ryder chuckled slightly, "thanks."

There was a silence as Ryder evaluated things. He evaluated her for the umpteenth time, then he evaluated the space under the bleachers where she was previously: dark and eerie, away from sunlight, hard to be seen under. Graffiti and drawings covered the surface of the concrete wall at the back of the space, as did tiny little burn marks which Ryder spotted frequently across the space of the wall. He couldn't figure out what those were just yet.

"So, is this your hiding place?" he asked.

Marley raised her eyebrows. "_Hiding place_?"

"You know, where you go when you're not attending your classes and you can't be seen by anyone." Ryder specified.

"Ohh..." Marley grasped what he was getting at, "I guess so. I mean, I don't really have to hide anymore. They don't really bother finding me."

Ryder stared at her bemusedly. "Aren't you given, like, hours of detention or something?"

"Well, Ryder," Marley smirked. "You're only in trouble if you get caught."

"But... you do get caught, don't you?"

"They don't bother catching me, really. You see, I'm kind of seen as a lost cause around here... people either don't see me or pretend not to." Marley chuckled, getting a cigarette out of her jean jacket pocket and lighting it, then taking a long drag, surprising Ryder yet more.

"...Huh..." Ryder replied, stunned by the mysterious girl in front of him. "Isn't that really depressing?"

"Not really. I mean, I'm free, right?" Marley smirked, letting out another puff of smoke. "You better get back to class, Ryder."

"Oh, yeah... yeah!" Ryder snapped out of his daydreaming. "Bye, Marley!"

"See ya." Marley bid the boy goodbye and turned around, back into the overwhelming darkness of under the bleachers. As her back was turned, Ryder noticed something on her skin between the space of her cropped jacket and shirt and her black mini skirt: _words_. Scrawled on the back of her waist in a gothic font, was a tattoo that read '_Promises are fake_' with two little daisy flowers on either sides of the writing. He mused about those words for the rest of the day.

* * *

Ryder huffed and sat down on a table with his fellow football players, slamming his lunch tray down in front of him. Upon being greeted by his friends, he began joining in with their conversation, however still thinking of his encounter with Marley, which had happened earlier that day. During a lull in the conversation where people on the table were eating their food, he spoke up.

"Hey, have you guys seen that girl... under the bleachers?" Ryder asked his fellow jocks.

"Wait, are you meaning to say that you've had the displeasure to see The Woman in Black?" Jake, a friend of his, chuckled. Ryder assumed that 'The Woman in Black' is what they must call her, as so much of her attire is drenched in the colour.

"Woah, dude! I can't believe you actually saw her..." Another jock guffawed.

"What about her?" Ryder asked.

"You _must_ know - you're the one who's recently seen her!" A football player called Sam with blond hair and huge lips said. Ryder raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"For starters, she's totally this weird emo girl. Head-to-toe black, strange music, piercings, highlights in her hair, smoking cigarettes... that's your first clue that she's not like the rest." Jake specified.

"Also, she's totally sarcastic and moody." Another jock explained. "Apparently the chick with the neck brace got her neck snapped because of getting on the wrong side of her!"

Some of the jocks widened their eyes and let out surprised comments, reacting to the rumour - Ryder did the same.

"And not to mention, she's totally a lost cause. She doesn't go to many of her classes and she's a senior. There's a very slim chance she's gonna graduate. Not that anyone would actually care though, right?" Jake chuckled.

"I'm not gonna lie though, she's pretty hot..." Sam admitted, and everyone at the table agreed and started explaining their favourite features about the girl - all apart from Ryder. "Shame though, she's totally bizarre and crazy. Did you hear she got a nipple piercing?" Sam added with a disgusted face, and everyone let out winces and grossed-out noises to that.

"She seemed pretty nice when I talked to her during practice, though..." Ryder mumbled, thinking nobody could hear him - he was wrong. Apparently everyone heard, and were now giving him confused and shocked faces.

"Wait, you actually _talked_ to her? Like, in _person_? What did she say to you?" Jake asked, still bemused.

"Well, she just introduced herself and told me that she'd seen me play before and that she liked my endgame dances. She told me she was a senior and that she didn't turn up to classes so she didn't even know if it counted anymore. She told me that she never gets caught because no one bothers finding her. That was kind of it." Ryder explained in a voice implying that they were overreacting.

"...Dude!" Sam exclaimed, chuckling. "You're telling us she didn't even tell you to back off, or insult you, punch you or anything?"

"No." Ryder chuckled. "Guys, that's _literally_ all that we talked about."

"Whatever she said, it doesn't matter. You need to stay away from her, man. She's _toxic_."

"_Toxic_?" Ryder raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Exactly." Jake agreed. "She's one hell of a danger. Just... don't get too involved. No-one knows what would happen if you do."

"Oh..." Ryder said, still completely confused about everything. Thoughts flew around in his cramped brain as he tried to comprehend, but it was no use. "Well, okay then."

* * *

Ryder tossed back his water bottle as he savoured every last drop of his drink. It was a hot day, even hotter than a few days before when he ran laps (and met Marley), and he was tired out immensely. His limbs ached from running, and he found himself sitting on the bleachers moments later, still catching his breath from his recent exercise. The junior boy was still trying to keep fit for his next games, so he was doing a lot more running than usual. Tilting his head back as his skin soaked in the sun, he began to hear a distorted ring of music through the pitch.

_When you were here before, _

_Couldn't look you in the eyes,_

_You float like a feather,_

_Your skin made me cry._

_You float like a feather in a beautiful world,_

_I wish I was special,_

_You're so f*cking special,_

_But I'm a creep, _

_I'm a weirdo,_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

Ryder found his tired and sore feet shuffling over to the source of the music. He began walking over to the other side of the pitch, where the music was loudest, as the song continued ringing out into the hot air.

_I don't care if it hurts, _

_I want to have control,_

_I want a perfect body,_

_I want a perfect soul._

_I want you to notice when I'm not around,_

_You're so f*cking special,_

_I wish I was special._

_But I'm a creep,_

_I'm a weirdo,_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here._

_She's running out the door,_

_She's running out,_

_She runs, runs, runs, runs_

When Ryder finally found where the music was coming from, he looked under the bleachers to find her. Marley. Her portable ghetto blaster was amplifying the song all over the pitch, though it was only for her ears to hear. Marley had her back turned, and was drawing intricate detail on a huge butterfly painted on the wall with different coloured chalks. Her multi-coloured hair was tied up in a messy high bun, still highlights of pink and blue swimming through her brown tresses, and you could see the multiple ear studs that were scattered across different places on her ears. Today she was wearing black wash jeans with a black short-sleeved crop top, and the same boots she had been wearing a few days before. As she got on her tiptoes to tweak the butterfly's antenna, Ryder then caught sight of her tattoo on her back waist again. '_Promises are fake_'. Ryder cleared his throat before trying to greet her over the loudness of her music. "Hey!" He yelled.

Marley turned around and, upon seeing him, she grinned. "Hey!" She walked over to her ghetto blaster and turned down the music at once, keeping it at a dull roar. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks..." Ryder smiled, before remembering what his friends had said the day before. They told him to keep his distance from her, to stay away and not get involved. "_Toxic_", they explained. With a more cautious attitude now, Ryder asked her: "And how are you?"

"Well, same-old I guess." Marley rubbed her chalk covered hand on her arm shyly, leaving a trail of brightly-coloured smudges there.

As Ryder came in, he revelled in the sensation of the cool air and darkness. Maybe this was why she loved it so much. Now focusing his attention on the walls and backs of the bleachers, he noticed all of the drawings, sketches, cartoons, portraits, landscapes, writing, paintings... all of which, Marley had done herself.

"Woah..." Ryder whispered as his eyes drifted around the room. "You did all of this?"

"Pretty much." Marley chuckled as she turned to look at the butterfly she had recently completed. "It's how I kill time and blow off steam. Nice to leave a mark _somewhere_ in the world, right?"

"Right." Ryder smiled as he looked at her art. Butterflies, flowers, moons, suns, skulls, hands, watering eyes, portraits, people in a comic-book style, pop art, random words and phrases written in an elegant style or a graffiti-like font. Ryder then drew his attention to other features of the room. Cigarette butts flooded the corners of the space and, now that Ryder was face to face with the burn marks that covered the walls, the boy realised that the marks must be where Marley puts her cigarettes out. A pile of books was nearby the corner where Marley would normally sit or stand, including a journal which was currently open on the floor, a pen balancing between the pages; Ryder could see Marley's spidery writing scrawled inside. Not far away from this pile lay a box filled to the brim with different pastel chalk. The boy noticed that Marley had even drawn things over the back of the bleachers, and he soon cast his eyes on a new drawing that was in progress: a father and a young girl, hand in hand, the young girl holding several multi-coloured balloons by strings, but one balloon was drifting away.

He turned back around to Marley. "These drawings are amazing."

Marley snapped out of her thoughts herself, turning to Ryder and smiling shyly. "Thanks. I just really love drawing, I guess." She chuckled.

"You could go places with this, Marley. I swear, you're definitely good enough."

"Yeah, but..." Marley trailed off.

"But what?"

"But I don't even know what I'm gonna do when I get out of here at the end of the year. I don't even know if I'll graduate. I catch up on work sometimes, and I used to study really hard but... that didn't get me anywhere." Marley admitted, looking at the ground and chuckling humourlessly.

"But... that doesn't mean you can't try new things whilst you're free, right?" Ryder asked gingerly.

"I guess, but... ugh, I don't know." Marley huffed.

"You still have plenty of time though, Marley." Ryder smiled, slowly making her do the same.

The brunette sighed. "So..." she walked over to an unfinished drawing and began fishing through her box of chalk until she found a light blue. Picking it up and rolling it in her hands, Marley soon drew the colour onto the brim of an unfinished eye, soon curving the line she had drawn down the wall, creating an emerging teardrop. "What are _your_ hobbies? Dreams?"

"Football, I guess. I like music a lot too. I can play drums." Ryder said, all the while looking at Marley who was in front of him. Watching how her tongue poked out slightly when she was concentrating, how her deliberate and slow strokes slowly formed a masterpiece, how she smudged lines slightly to give them a softer touch, but mostly, her tattoo. He read it over and over again in his mind as the grungy font etched itself on the back of his eyelids. He strived to know what it meant and, when Marley tilted her head down slightly, Ryder caught sight of another tattoo. A short, black, jagged line; a lightning bolt, only on the back of her neck, almost as if the bolt was striking the very start of her back. Ryder's eyes watched the tattoo for a very long time, before he was snapped out of his gazing by Marley.

"You like it?" Marley asked as she stepped back to be next to the boy, hands on hips (she now left blue fingerprints on her bare waist because of it).

The chestnut-haired boy fixed his glance onto the chalk drawing. A cartoony eye with a mesmerising purple colour, like a marble, the different shades of purple whirring around the eye. A blue tear graced the bottom of the eye, and slowly the tear turned from blue to pink, to red, to sunset orange, yellow, lime green, and finally back to the same blue it was at the beginning of the teardrop. A rainbow tear.

"Woah... that's beautiful." Ryder stared in awe of the drawing.

"I think it's certainly... _eye-catching_." Marley smirked, causing the boy to chuckle at her bad pun.

* * *

Ryder and Marley were, once again, exchanging stories and facts about themselves again (they had done it every school day when Ryder ran laps) when a question persisted in Ryder's mind constantly. He found a lull in the conversation and, taking it as a sign, he asked her.

"What do your tattoos mean?" He blurted out rather awkwardly.

"My tattoos?"

"You know, '_Promises are fake_' and the lightning bolt down your neck." Ryder expanded.

"Why can't I just have tattoos for the sake of having tattoos, huh? There has to be a reason why I am the way I am? I can't just say "hey, I love the colour black" or "that tattoo looks cool" anymore?" Marley challenged, smirking as she lit another cigarette and let out a drag.

"Uh... you can... I just-"

"Relax, Bieber." Marley chuckled, sitting up, crossing her legs. "I'll tell you why I got them."

There was a silence when Marley breathed out smoke as if she was sighing deeply, before the girl began.

"When I was little, I was really close with my dad. He was this big lawyer guy who was really funny and smart, and he knew who I was - better than anyone. We used to go to carnivals and theme parks when he wasn't working, and he'd win me big toys and loads of balloons and stuff." Marley grinned to herself as her eyes drifted to the painting in progress of the father and the little girl with the balloons - the one Ryder had noticed before. He realised why she had drawn that now.

Marley continued. "But, one day... he just kind of shut me out. He always had some 'work thing' to go to instead of playing with me. He started being bitter towards Mom and fighting with her a lot, too. They always fought after I'd gone to bed, but I could still hear them. Anyway, a year later we found out that Dad's 'work things' were actually the kind of things he would try and prove guilty at work... apparently he got bored of Mom, so he decided to sleaze around with other women behind her back and, once Mom found out, she was so mad and so upset that it was the biggest fight they had ever had - no matter how hard I tried to sleep whilst they were bickering, I couldn't. I'm pretty sure I heard a slap at one point. Anyway, Dad took all of his stuff and left that night and I never saw him again. I came downstairs from my bedroom and saw Mom crying on the stairs and I sat next to her, hugged her and said: "What's wrong, Mommy?" and she looked at her wedding ring. Then, after a long time, all she said back was: "Promises are fake, sweetheart." There was really bad thunder and lightning that night too, so I was terrified, and Mom was trying to comfort me but you know she couldn't, so I think her words to calm me down were also trying to calm herself down. So... yeah. Lightning bolt and '_Promises are fake_'."

Ryder was speechless. He was expecting something more light-hearted, but instead he had uncovered the very depths of Marley's childhood. "I'm so sorry..." Ryder began, unsure of how to react.

"Don't be, you've got no reason to be sorry. The _real_ apology I'm looking for is the one from my jerk of a father because he scarred me with so many trust issues. I shut myself out because of him." Marley chuckled humourlessly as she looked at the floor that she was sitting on.

"Why did you get the tattoos in the first place, though? I mean, it seems pretty traumatising - if it were me, I'd never want to be constantly reminded of that." Ryder asked, cooing sympathetically.

"That's kind of why I got them on the _back_ of myself. Because I can't really see them unless I look at them in a mirror. Besides, I want it to be a reminder." Marley explained.

"But... how would you be reminded of it if you can't see them?"

"It's more of a reminder for other people, I guess. And when they ask me what they mean, that's a reminder to me in itself, isn't it?" Marley said, her voice growing more like a whisper with every word.

"Well, that's pretty clever, you have to admit." Ryder said after a while, smiling slightly.

"Thanks, I guess." Marley said shyly, rubbing the back of her neck (where her lightning bolt tattoo was).

"Thank _you_ for sharing that, even though you really didn't have to. I really admire that, Marley." Ryder said, meaning every word.

"It's nothing, really." Marley insisted as a slight red tint rose to her pale cheeks. There was a silence in the conversation as Marley smoked her cigarette before she got up. She cleared her throat. "So, wanna do some drawing?"

"Uh, I'll pass. I can't really draw-"

"Sure you can! No excuses in my hideout, alright? Pick up a chalk." Marley chuckled as Ryder picked up a coral red colour.

"Okay... now what?" Ryder asked nervously.

"You just... draw." Marley stated simply in front of a blank space on the wall. "Anything really."

"I'm not sure about this, Marley..." Ryder insisted.

"Come on, don't be such a coward! You're a McKinley Titan, you need to be brave! Draw... a flower." Marley conjured up the thought as she took her cigarette into her mouth again.

"A _flower_?" Ryder chuckled. "A little girly, don't you think?"

"Alright then, why don't you draw something a _guy_ draws?" Marley teased. "A naked chick, a monster truck, a football...?" She smirked.

Ryder paused and bit the inside of his mouth. "The flower seems nice."

Picking up a few more chalks, the pair was ready to begin drawing. Halfway through his simple daisy, Ryder moved his head to the side to watch Marley as she drew her magnificent lily. As usual, her tongue poked out of her mouth slightly in concentration, making her look adorable. Her long and curled eyelashes fluttered effortlessly as she blinked and squinted, and the bits of hair fraying from her messy bun swayed around with every slight head movement. She looked so elegant and concentrated as she swirled different bright colours onto the flower.

That's when Ryder realised: Marley was an enigma. But there was something very beautiful and admirable in her rebellious, mysterious personality. She was a living example that you should never judge a book by its cover. He grinned at her (not that she noticed) before going back to his own work.

Whilst drawing onto her surface of the concrete wall, she looked to her right, seeing Ryder and his small, simple daisy. He was biting his lower lip as he concentrated on detailing the small, coral flower. Marley grinned at the sight of his adorableness - she never would have thought a jock could do what Ryder has done. And not just the drawing - everything. She would never have pictured that a McKinley Titan would even _notice_ her, let alone talk to her, befriend her and listen to her. He saw past her grungy, dangerous exterior and Marley couldn't help but love that about him. Struggling to trust people her entire life, the girl finally accepted that maybe not everyone is as they seem. She actually thought herself a fool now for hiding from people when the real help was right there in front of her.

The boy himself etched a final line on the flower before standing back and sighing. "Done."

Marley snapped out of her daydreaming about Ryder and looked at him once more. "Great! Um, let's have a look." Marley took a step back to inspect Ryder's drawing from afar. It was a very simple, cartoony daisy with uneven petals and swirling colours, but Marley had far since stopped focusing on the daisy. There was a line marking where the flower stopped, and then Ryder had sketched swirling, linking, beautiful roots below, leading off the daisy. It was far from the best drawing she had ever seen, but it was also far from the worst; Marley found herself grinning at the surprising twist on the drawing, and she looked over to Ryder once more. "It's beautiful. I knew you could do it."

Ryder chuckled. "Thanks, but I'm no artist. Your lily is much better."

The duo looked over to the girl's drawing. It was a significantly bigger lily with swirling lilac and blue petals, yellow stamen shooting elegantly out of the middle of the flower.

"I don't think it's worthy of a prize, but thank you." Marley smiled shyly, turning her head to look at Ryder.

The boy smiled, before realising that it was probably time for him to go. He informed Marley and, once bidding each other goodbye, they went their separate ways again.

* * *

The pair were bonding once again as they told each other stories, jokes, happenings... everything, really. Marley was telling him a story about something she saw take place outside her neighbourhood once, when Ryder suddenly heard the voices of his fellow team-members come out to the field. "Uh, I have to go back now. Bye, Marley." The boy said in a hurried slur before dashing out of the girl's hideout.

"Bye, Ryder..." The girl spoke as he watched Ryder escape, confused to say the least. She shrugged it off and got up, beginning to chalk another drawing on the large space of the wall, but soon she heard voices outside.

"Dude, why were you hanging out in The Woman in Black's cave?" The sound of a jock teased, and Marley realised that must be one of Ryder's friends. She stopped drawing to listen to the conversation.

"Yeah, dude, we told you to stay away from her. She's toxic, remember? You don't need to get involved in that _mess_." Another boy said, his voice growing more and more intimidating.

"Guys, I wasn't talking to her." Came Ryder's voice. "I-I just... she started talking to _me_, and I couldn't get away."

The other boys chuckled. "God - that must've been awful." One said.

"Yeah, I-I know... Jesus, she's such a freak!" Marley heard Ryder chuckle, and she dropped her chalk, slumping down to the floor slowly. How could he say that? Marley trusted him with her thoughts, and now he was suddenly embarrassed to have spoken to her? Just when Marley though things could have been different, Ryder turned around and stabbed her in the back. She waited until the laughing jocks were out of earshot, and then she let out a cry. Hot tears streamed uncontrollably down her pale complexion, and she wiped them away hurriedly with her hand, curling up into a ball in the corner, as if to shield herself from any more emotions that would come.

* * *

The sun shined brightly as Ryder, once again, began running. He hoped that maybe the exercise could burn off his guilt about saying those things about Marley the day before just so his friends wouldn't tease him. Nonetheless, no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't disturb the thought that had well and truly settled in his brain. As he tried harder to stop thinking about the happening, the sky turned gray and, later, it began to rain on the pitch he was running on. Cursing under his breath, he tried to find shelter - of course, the only temporary shelter that was available to him other than inside was Marley's hideout. Swallowing his guilt at last, he ran underneath the bleachers and later saw Marley in the very far corner, her back to him, sketching a large candle and adding immaculate detail to the flame. "Hey!" He grinned, greeting the girl, but there was no answer as she looked down, soon continuing her drawing. "Hey!" Ryder repeated.

"You know, it's funny," Marley choked out, still not facing the boy. "How _wrong_ you can still be about people; how things never change."

"What?"

"And even though you know what happens in the end, you're too naïve to care about the warning signals." Marley carried on.

"Marley, what's wrong?" Ryder asked, oblivious.

"I opened up to you and you stabbed me in the back, that's what's wrong!" Marley's voice projected louder and louder over the space as she finally turned to meet Ryder's gaze. As the words echoed through the space, the chestnut-haired boy noticed the tears in her eyes that were now threatening to overspill.

"Marley..." Ryder cooed.

"I trusted you with my deepest secrets, and you went behind my back and told all of your friends that I was a freak. You were afraid and embarrassed to admit that you were actually hanging out with The Woman in Black, weren't you? Well, congratulations, because you won't have to hang out with her anymore." Marley spat out bitterly.

"Marley, don't-"

"Don't tell me what to do, alright? If your friends want you to back off from me, why don't you just back the hell off?! I've been fine by myself for almost four years at this school, I think I'll survive being without anyone again!" The brunette yelled as her lip trembled and tears shed from her eyes.

"But-" Ryder tried to explain, however he was cut off by the girl again.

"I don't need your help, okay? I don't need you!" Marley cried before calming down slightly and taking a deep breath. "And you know what? I can't believe I was actually starting to _like_ you; to have little feelings for you. And I'm such an idiot, because I thought you actually liked me, too!"

"Marley, I-"

"Don't you get it?! You're not wanted here anymore! Get out!" Marley yelled as more tears streamed down her face. Then, after a while, Ryder did.

The brunette squeezed her eyes shut as she slid down the wall nearby, smudging her recent artwork and distorting the colours. She let out a whimper as her lips trembled uncontrollably and her eye makeup dripped down her face with the tears. She had just pushed away the only beacon of light at this school; the only person who cared about her. Except, he didn't really care, did he? He called her a freak, and that was unforgivable. So, as the rain poured down and created the perfect pathetic fallacy, she cried harder than she ever had before.

* * *

The brunette twirled the end of her plait around her index finger as she threw a ball at the wall with her free hand. Every time she threw it, the ball would ricochet off the wall and back into her awaiting hand. After time, Marley found a rhythm and stuck to it. As she threw and caught the ball, she began to hear the sound of gossiping girls and whistles.

"_Oh, God_," thought Marley. "_Here come the Cheerios_."

As the cheerleading team settled in lines on the bleachers, making Marley's space under them even darker, she started throwing and catching the ball more aggressively, and it bounced off the wall at a faster speed. Marley clenched her teeth out of annoyance as the girls above her began to cheer repetitively.

_"They're H-O-T T-O G-O_

_The Titans are hot to go!_

_Say WOOP, hot to go!_

_The Titans are so hot to go!_

_They're H-O-T T-O G-O_

_The Titans are hot to go!_

_Say WOOP, hot to go!_

_Did you know they're hot to go?"_

And so they continued, cheering and doing synchronised movements above her, making the bleachers creek with their jumps and winding Marley up even more. She swallowed her rage and attempted to block them out by hitting the ball against the wall even harder, but alas, there was no shutting out the Cheerios. For now, they stopped, as their obnoxious coach yelled at the flaws of the performance. After a while, they had a break, and chatted on the bleachers. One girl, Kitty, got irritated by the brunette's loud ball game, and poked her head through the gap on the bleachers.

"Hey, freak, could you tone your game down a little?" The blonde smirked and called Marley out. The girl in question averted her eyes from the ball and looked up to the familiar face, smirking and looking at her.

"Do you want another broken nose, Wilde?" Marley threatened, imitating Kitty's innocent voice.

"Woah, calm down. At least _I'm_ the one that's actually going places after I graduate this year! I got accepted into Harvard, and you're gonna spend the rest of your life alone in that doodle cave. At least _I_ have friends! You push away anyone that even talks to you!" Kitty smirked.

"Don't make me come up there!" Marley spoke through gritted teeth.

"Wait, _what_? I didn't know you could actually survive in light..." Came Kitty's snarky reply, and a chorus of giggles followed, as there was now a group of other cheerleaders looking down at the brunette as well.

"Just..." Marley began to yell, but she couldn't think of any good consequences coming out of the fight anymore. "...Just back off, Kitty."

"Wow. I thought you were a cheap woos, but I didn't think you'd actually let me win this poor excuse of a fight." Kitty smirked again.

That really sent Marley off. Without considering the outcome, the brunette propelled her baseball right at Kitty's face with extreme force and speed, where it hit her nose and then bounced off and hit the floor again. The blonde gasped, as did her Cheerio friends, and she soon clutched her nose. She cursed loudly and got up in a hurry. "Coach Sylvester, I think my nose is broken!" The cheerleader bawled.

Marley bit her lip, trying to get her breathing back to normal as she heard the bickering of Kitty and her Coach, and the whispers and mumbles above her of the other cheerleaders. It dawned on her that what Kitty said was, in fact, true. She didn't know what was going to happen to her, and she was alone. Suddenly very afraid, the brunette moved herself into a ball, feeling the tears return.

She hated to admit it to herself, but the girl missed Ryder. He was the only person who acknowledged her existence in a good way and, although what he did was terrible, she couldn't help but look past that. One thing he had said made everything change, but Marley suddenly decided that maybe she was overreacting. So many thoughts were swirling around her brain like the colours on the walls around her, but one thing was definitely certain: she needed to talk to Ryder again.

* * *

Marley looked up at the setting sky above her as she walked back onto the school grounds. That night was the Titan's football game against Carmel High, one of their most prestigious and tough oppositions ever. Seeing as she needed to speak to Ryder, who was playing in the game, the brunette thought it would be a good idea to attend. People would stare, of course, but she needed to speak to him. Marley was wearing a black jean jacket with no sleeves (the same jacket she wore when she first met Ryder), a black, sleeveless T-shirt with the famous yellow smiley face logo on it. She wore black wash jeans, and her infamous black lace-up boots. Her long, wavy hair was down and showing its several shades and colours. Her makeup was the same as usual: applied generously, a large quantity around the eyes, wings lifting up her face effortlessly, and luscious velvet-red lips. She walked into the large stadium, rubbing her lower-arm with a sweating hand in pure anxiousness. Walking over to her hideout, she glanced inside, before climbing the bleachers above it. Several people from school glared at her and mumbled things to nearby students under their breath. She heard one girl speak: "Look, that's the bleacher girl I was telling you about! Did you hear she broke that Kitty girl's nose the other day? _Everyone's_ talking about it."

Breathing through her nostrils and trying to stay calm, Marley finally settled on the end of a row of seats, where she had a respectable view. Peering over the area of the pitch, as the football game began, she tried to spot Ryder - to no avail as, of course, everyone was wearing their helmets and uniforms.

As the game began, the brunette slowly began to pick up on the rules of the game and who was who, thanks to the people commentating the game.

Soon enough, half-time had long since finished, and it was a close call for the McKinley Titans. Neck and neck with Carmel High, the football team had just seconds to try and score another goal. As the whistle blew, cheers were hurriedly strewn across the pitch and the bleachers as the Titans grasped the ball. Throwing the ball to a boy with awaiting arms, the tall boy ran as fast as he could, dodging the tackles from the opposition players wearing blue uniforms, before the crowd soon erupted with cheers of joy. Marley was yet to know why, but the commentator spelled it out for her with simple words that blew her mind:

_"And Ryder Lynn wins it for the Titans with a touchdown!"_

* * *

The sky was now well and truly dark now, and Marley was shivering by the exit of the school, internally scolding herself for not bringing a sleeved jacket. She was patiently awaiting the chestnut-haired boy, who was seemingly famous that evening for his win. The girl doubted she would be able to get Ryder alone to talk to him that night, but maybe that was a good thing - she couldn't even form what she was going to say to him in her mind. She tried, once again, but was interrupted when she heard the boy in question laugh and talk with his friends as he came closer and closer to the exit of the building. In a hurry, Marley quickly hid around the wall so that she wasn't seen as she heard Ryder bid his friends goodbye. Marley looked around the edge of the wall to see that Ryder was now on his phone, texting. Attempting to clear her head a final time, she felt her feet courageously step closer and closer to him and, before she knew it, Marley was standing right behind him.

"Hey," Marley greeted awkwardly from behind, rubbing her arm nervously yet again.

Ryder turned around to find Marley. "Uh, hey, Marley." Ryder greeted in shock, putting his phone back into his pocket. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you guys smash Carmel High. Nice win, by the way." Marley mumbled shyly.

"Oh, thanks." Ryder grinned, looking down to the floor.

"Although, that wasn't really the initial reason why I came here..." The brunette trailed off, looking at the ground. "I came here because I needed to personally apologise about lashing out on you. I totally overreacted and I'm really, really sorry." Marley looked up from the ground to Ryder so that he could see by her expression that she meant every word. "You were the only person who's acknowledged my existence nicely in years, and I totally treated you like shi-"

"No, no, no. You shouldn't be apologising. You were totally right, I was a huge jerk for doing that and I just hope you can forgive _me_, actually." Ryder insisted as he cut her off.

"I didn't know that you were sacrificing your reputation to see me, Ryder. I wouldn't have let you do that, and _I'm_ sorry." Marley spoke in more of a whisper.

"Marley, please don't be sorry. _"You've got no reason to be sorry"_, remember?" Ryder smirked, mirroring the same words Marley had said to him weeks before.

This forced a smile upon Marley. "You're such a cute, loveable weirdo. You know that?"

"Mhm..." Ryder agreed, smirking. "And you're an enigma, Marley Rose."

"An enigma?" Marley asked teasingly.

"Yep." Ryder grinned. "But I've learned that there's something incredibly beautiful and effortless about your puzzlement. You're perfectly imperfect, and that sticks on people. You're stuck on me."

Marley grinned and, without thinking, impulsively got on tiptoes and pressed her lips against Ryder's softly. Ryder kissed back, although baffled at first, and pulled away after a few seconds. He looked Marley in the eyes as she did the same to him, and soon he was leaning in for more kisses.

The pair broke away reluctantly after a few minutes and found their foreheads rested against one another.

"Maybe I'll see you under the bleachers sometime?" Marley finally asked, smirking as she got out her car keys.

"Yeah, maybe." Ryder grinned mischievously, before leaning in for another kiss that Marley lovingly reciprocated.

* * *

**Okay, so that's it! Wow, that took almost 7200 words and 14 pages. I didn't even mean for it to be a long story! Oh well, I got really inspired. Maybe I should write a sequel :P**

**Also, *shameless self-promotion time* you guys should check out my chaptered story, New Perspective. The next chapter for that will be up soon but it might be pretty awful as I'm going through a massive writer's block at the moment. I will try to add more, since it's only around 1200 words at the moment, but if I don't add a bit more length I promise that the next few chapters will be longer.**

**Until next time,**

**Beth :-)**


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